Largest Apple hack reveals 225k accounts stolen; Bullish signs on company's trade everywhere

Apple has found itself in the middle of the largest "hack" to date as more than 225,000 iPhone accounts have been stolen. The Palo Alto Networks or PANW discovered that iPhone user accounts have been hacked through a malware that has spread in the United States and Russia including 18 other countries.

It has been dubbed as the "largest known Apple hack" discovered by by PANW and Chinese tech group WeipTech. The theft is even more alarming for those with "jailbroken" phones for the sake of evading Apple's hardware security-based restrictions to access prohibited apps and tailor phone interface. The malware is dubbed "KeyRaider" and has the ability to access iOS devices using popular jailbreak tool Cydia. It can also upload stolen information, which includes Apple passwords, account usernames and even device GUID. The stolen details are uploaded to a different command and control server. This puts users at risk because anyone can use their stolen information.

“KeyRaider steals Apple push notification service certificates and private keys, steals and shares App Store purchasing information, and disables local and remote unlocking functionalities on iPhones and iPads,” PANW said on its website.

The company also added: "KeyRaider has successfully stolen over 225,000 valid Apple accounts and thousands of certificates, private keys, and purchasing receipts. The malware uploads stolen data to its command and control (C2) server, which itself contains vulnerabilities that expose user information."

PANW and WeipTech already provided tools and services to help detect the malware. Apple has yet to address the situation fully. The issue comes on top of recent estimates about Apple's bullish future. In an article by USA Today, the report emphasised how Apple's stock fell apart this year. Despite the massive gains earlier in the year, it seemingly evaporated in the latter part of the year. Part of the tumultuous situation is how Apple's investors are banking on China to pick up the firm's smartphone sales. However, China's slowdown continues to hammer companies, even dampening prospects as such of Apple.

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